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Alaska State Troopers on Tuesday found the body of a 49-year-old man in the Sterling woods they had been searching for since early Sunday.

James "Jim" Stenglein was last seen around midnight Saturday while visiting his sister, Trish Sutton and her husband, Brent, in their home on the Sterling Highway, across from south Robinson Loop near Mile 88.

Stenglein died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to troopers. The body was found with the help of a search and rescue dog and recovered at 5:25 p.m. Tuesday.

Stenglein told his sister he was going to bed, and when the Suttons awoke Sunday morning, he was gone, said Brent Sutton's mother, Beverly Rowe, on Tuesday.

"His car was still there at the house. His billfold and his cell phone were in the house," Rowe said. His car keys also were there.

Trooper "E" Detachment Commander, Capt. Peter Mlynarik, said troopers searched the ground around the Sutton home Monday with a canine unit brought up from Anchor Point.

"Our helicopter searched the area from the air (Monday) evening," he said.

On Tuesday, one or two trooper search dogs were flown in from Anchorage to continue the ground search.

Stenglein, who worked as a mechanic for the troopers, was in the process of being transferred from Dutch Harbor to Seward, according to Rowe. His address was still listed as Dutch Harbor, and troopers there checked his residence as part of the search.

Mlynarik said troopers also looked at (commercial) flights out of Kenai to see if Stenglein might have flown somewhere.

Stenglein, whose wife died several years ago, lived alone. He has a son, Joseph, attending college in Colorado.

Phil Hermanek can be reached at phillip.hermanek@peninsulaclarion.com.